Bevin Speaks at Koch Event On 'Day of Prayer' for Shooting

On the day that Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin declared a "day of prayer" for the small community impacted by last week's deadly school shooting, Bevin was speaking to an elite group of GOP donors at a private retreat in California.

Bevin was a featured guest Sunday at the exclusive weekend retreat near Palm Springs, California, sponsored by the political network backed by conservative industrialists Charles and David Koch. He was one of just two governors on the guest list.

The Republican Kentucky governor did not address the shooting directly in multiple appearances attended by the Associated Press, which was allowed to cover parts of the private event.

In one panel discussion with reporters, he promoted his efforts to help rehabilitate felons.

"We've created an entire third class of citizens," Bevin said, endorsing the Kochs' push to reduce prison populations and restore rights to some felons.

At a subsequent speech before roughly 550 elite Koch donors, he drew a standing ovation after likening the conservative money men to "modern-day John Hancocks," a reference to the first signer of the Declaration of Independence.

"Let's protect our culture," he declared. "Our culture is crumbling."

Representatives from Bevin's office did not respond to an email asking whether he had attended weekend visitation and funerals for the shooting victims.

Last week, when asked about his response to the shooting, Bevin said he believes in being "hands on as much as possible, hands off as much as necessary." He flew to Marshall County on the day of the shooting and met with some victims' families. He went back on Friday to sign a proclamation declaring Sunday to be "A day of prayer for Marshall County." He signed the proclamation at an event in the community and publicly embraced some family members of a student who was killed in the attack.

Sunday, Bevin's official Twitter account posted video of him signing the proclamation and "urged Kentuckians of all faiths to pray earnestly today for God's comfort upon the victims and their families." Bevin's account did not mention he was at the Koch event in California.

"They know they have my prayers. They know they have my heart," Bevin said of Marshal County last week when asked about his response to the shooting.

Patrick Adamson is the youth director at Briensburg Baptist Church in Benton, Kentucky. His church youth group includes students that attend Marshall County High School, where the shooting took place. He said he had no issue with Bevin traveling out of state on a day he had set aside for prayer.

"I think (you) can participate in a day of prayer no matter where you are," Adamson said. "The people that I've talked to in the community think that he responded in a fantastic manner. His response has exceeded most of our expectations here."

The high school reopened Friday. Police say a 15-year-old boy opened fire into the school's crowded common area just before classes were to begin. Two students were killed, 14 others were shot and injured and seven more were hurt in the frenzied evacuation that followed.

The shooter faces preliminary charges of murder and assault. Authorities have not named him publicly because he is a juvenile. But prosecutors have said they are seeking to try him as an adult.

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She wore black Converse shoes and Louisville Cardinals sweatshirts and loved classic rock. He played on the high school baseball team and enjoyed history and the outdoors. They were 15. They were Bailey Nicole Holt and Preston Ryan Cope. They started school together and they ended school together. They were killed in a shooting spree at Marshall County High School on Tuesday, January 23.

Police say a 15-year-old student opened fire in the commons area as school began for the day. A total of 16 were shot and others were injured. Bailey Holt died in the school and Preston Cope died after being transported to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville.

In this week’s episode of Kentucky Politics Distilled, a school shooting at Marshall County High School sparks debate in Frankfort over whether and how state government can try to prevent gun violence.

On Tuesday morning, a student opened fire on his classmates, killing two teenagers and injuring more than a dozen others. The incident has drawn sympathy from across the country and around the world.

And on the lighter side, what do purple cows have to do with the fractured politics of the Kentucky House of Representatives? Listen to this week’s wrap up with capitol reporter Ryland Barton.

Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin asked families and friends of the victims of the Marshall County High School shooting gather on the stage of a local art center as he declared Sunday, January 28, 2018 'A Day of Prayer for Marshall County.'

Bevin offered words of encouragement and faith and called for prayer, while criticizing those who 'mock' the sentiment of "thoughts and prayers."

Police say a 15-year-old male student of Marshall County High School entered the school and fired a handgun, killing two - Bailey Holt and Preston Cope - and injuring 18 others. Police have not identified the shooter, but say he was nonviolently apprehended and that prosecutors are looking The shooting has drawn international attention and shaken rural Marshall County to the core.

The identity of the 15-year-old gunman still hasn’t been released two days after he allegedly killed two students and injured 18 others. Dr. Daniel Phillips teaches sociology and criminal justice at Campbellsville University.

"Being young like 15 to 25, being male, that's the profile of a lot of people who do violence throughout our country," Phillips told WKU Public Radio. 'Do I think there's a way you could go into a school and pick out a person who might do this? Probably not.'"

More than 20 years ago, Missy Jenkins Smith spent a week in the ICU after a shooter opened fire on his fellow classmates, killing three students. Smith is now a counselor for the Calloway County Alternative Instructional Facility.